Minecraft Realms Available Now

Mojang today announced that Minecraft Realms, the private server hosting service for Minecraft, is available worldwide for PC and Mac. The purpose of this paid service is to make an easier and safer online experience for players.

Minecraft Realms costs $13 a month, but discounts are offered for the longer three and six month subscriptions. Only the host of the service has to pay, and can invite up to 20 players to join his or her Realms server. Mojang says that this service "won’t require you to set up LAN networks, configure IPs, or mess about with ports," and that Realms is "the easiest way to host an infinitely big Minecraft world."

Even if the host isn't playing, the Realms servers are always online. The worlds are backed up frequently, and the host can revert to a previously saved state if the need arises.

Mojang is hoping to release Realms for other platforms at a later date.

Our TakeA safer and more secure environment for players is a great thing, and I'm sure the Danish government would agree. It comes at a price, however. If you're always playing Minecraft online, it may be a cost worth investigating.